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Bressachoil farmstead is a Glen Ernan settlement located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This form of rural habitation is characteristic of the Highlands and represents a pattern of dispersed agricultural settlement that evolved across northern Scotland. The farmstead sits upon bedrock formed from a mafic igneous intrusion dating to the Silurian period, part of the substantial igneous activity that shaped this region's geology between the Ordovician and Silurian eras.
Glen Ernan farmsteads typically comprise modest stone structures adapted to upland terrain and pastoral economy. Such settlements reflect the seasonal and subsistence patterns of their inhabitants, with building techniques and layout responding directly to local materials and landscape constraints. The mafic bedrock beneath Bressachoil would have influenced both the stone available for construction and the character of the surrounding land.
The site is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the scheduled monument reference SM11499, recognising its archaeological and historical significance as evidence of settlement patterns and rural life in the Scottish Highlands. Farmsteads of this type contribute substantially to understanding how communities organised their domestic and agricultural spaces across difficult terrain over many centuries.
Bressachoil farmstead, Glen Ernan is a scheduled monument protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11499. View the official record →
Bressachoil farmstead is a Glen Ernan settlement located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM11499.
Bressachoil farmstead, Glen Ernan is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic Environment Scotland — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Scotland. The official designation reference is SM11499.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Relaquheim, limekiln 1060m WSW of, Sron Aonghais (0.7 km), Relaquheim, farmstead 480m SE of, Glen Ernan (1.3 km), Meikle Fleuchat, shielings and enclosures 1060m SE of Shiel (3 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Bressachoil farmstead, Glen Ernan's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Bressachoil farmstead, Glen Ernan stands on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Ordovician To Silurian, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is mafic igneous-rock.